Garment hanger retainer



March 17, 1959 J. A. MELONE GARMENT HANGER RETAINER Filed Dec. 18, 1 957INVENTOR. JA/WKS ,4, Mild/45'. BY

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United States Patent 2,877,941 GARMENT HANGER RETAINER James A. Melone,Indianapolis, Ind. Application December 18, 1957, Serial No. 703,580 I 2Claims. (Cl. 223-88) This invention relates to a garment hanger,particularly of the type wherein there is a wire hook extended from thearms of the hanger, the hook being designed to engage over a rod. Theinvention is primarily concerned with means for preventing theaccidental disengagement of the hook from the rod. It frequentlyhappens, where a number of hangers, particularly empty hangers aresuspended from a rod, that when one hanger is purposely removed from therod, other hangers may be rocked or become tangled so that they areturned sufiiciently to allow the hook to slide off the rod and theresult is that a number of these hangers will drop to the floor.

This is particularly true where garment hangers are employed on a rod ora cable across an automobile and in this case, even though a garment ishanging on the hanger, the motion of the car in stopping and starting orin turning curves and the like will cause a hanger to be come disengagedfrom the supporting rod or cable and allow the hanger and its garmentsuspended thereon to drop to the floor.

The invention contemplates the use of an elastic member between theshank of a hook and the free end of the hook so that the elastic membermay be engaged and disengaged from the free end for securing anddisengaging the hook from the supporting bar as well.

A primary advantage of the invention resides in the fact that, by usingan elastic link, the link may be held at any position along the shank byone end while the other end is engaged about the free end of the garmenthanger hook, and simply by pulling on the end of the link at the freeend, it may be disengaged, all without having to distort the hook in anymanner, so that the free end is not required to be bent or to be sprungin or out toward the shank. Also, the elastic link, when carriedupwardly on the shank and the free end of the garment hanger, may comeinto contact with the under side of the hanger support bar and therebytend to resist frictionally rocking of the hooks around the hanger bar.

A further important advantage of the invention resides in the fact that,by use of the elastic link, the link may be applied to varying shapes ofhooks on hangers, even to those hooks which have an upturned outer end.

These and other important advantages of the invention will becomeapparent to those versed in the art in the following description of oneparticular form of the invention as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

Fig. l is a view in side elevation of a garment hanger to which theinvention is applied;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of a modified form of garment hangerhook to which the invention is applied; and

Fig. 3 is a view in top plan of the elastic link.

A garment hanger designated by the numeral may have any desired shapeand utilize any desired material, the hanger herein shown being theusual wire hanger from which extends upwardly a hook 12 terminating in adownwardly directed end portion 16. The hook 12 in normal llllmk usagewill be engaged over a pole or rod 11 in the usual and well knownmanner. The diameter of the pole 11 will vary in many installations,from the relatively small size as indicated in Fig. 1, to a larger sizeapproximately filling in the entire space defined by the hook. In anyevent, the free end 16 will extend below the under side of the pole 11.

A link 14 is formed out of any suitable material, the essential featureof the material being that it be elastic so that the link 14 may stretchlongitudinally and return to its initial dimension. The link 14 isprovided with holes 15, adjacent opposite ends of the link as indicatedin Fig. 3. Preferably there is a tab portion 17 extending beyond one ofthe holes 15 to be used as means for gripping the The link 14 ispositioned on the book 12 by entering the end portion 16 through one ofthe holes 15, such as hole 15a, and the link is then carried around thehook to have the end portion of the link positioned at some suchlocation as indicated in Fig. I. Here, the link 14 has the end portioncarrying the hole 15a well down on the shank 12a of the hook 12, that isat a distance below the underside of the rod or bar 11. The holes 15 and15a are preferably made to be of a diameter somewhat less than is thediameter of the wire forming the hook 12, so that the link 14 will becarried on the shank 12a at any position to which it may be shifted dueto the elastic engagement therewith.

The link 14 is pulled horizontally from the shank 12a to bring the hole15 into registry with the end 16 of the 00k 12 and then by means of thetab 17 the link 14 is pulled upwardly to have the end portion 16 passedthrough the hole 15 for a distance such as is indicated in Fig. 1.Normally, the link 14 will be below the pole 11, but the link 14 may beshifted upwardly on the hook 12 by pushing the link 14 upwardly alongthe shank 12a and the end portion 16 to bring the intermediate portionof the tab 14 into close proximity or even into contact with theunderside of the pole 11. In that position, it will assume as desiredthe arcuate form as indicated by the dash lines in Fig. 1.

In any event, whether or not the link 14 is located to give clearancebetween it and the rod 11, or brought up against the rod 11, the hook 12will be prevented from being rocked to drop oil of the rod 11. Normally,the weight of the hanger 10 is sufiicient to keep the hanger in theposition as indicated in Fig. 1, but is only during the placing of agarment on the hanger, or when removing other hangers from the pole orrod 11, or as above indicated in using the device in an automobile dueto excessive up and down and fore and aft travel of the rod 11, that thehangers 10 are severely rocked.

Referring to that form of the invention as shown in Fig. 2, the same tab14 is employed, but in this instance, the hook 12 has an upwardly turnedend portion 13 which is generally provided in the better forms ofhangers so that the hook 12 is more readily engaged over the rod 11.Even with this reversely turned end portion 13, the link 14 may bepulled by the tab 17 to be stretched and bring the hole 15 up over thehook end to secure the link 14 in position. The link 14, of course, maybe shifted upwardly and downwardly of the hook after this engagementover the end 13 is had.

The link 14 is made out of a flexible, elastic material such as rubberor synthetic rubber, and the holes 15 and 15a are spaced apart adistance less than the spacing of said end portions from said shank 12a,so that the link 14 is under tension when engaging the hanger shank andend portions.

Therefore, while I have shown the invention in the one particular form,it is obvious that structural changes may be employed without departingfrom the spirit of the invention, and therefore do not desire to belimited to that precise form beyond the limitations which maybe imposedby the following claims.

1. The eombinationwith; a garment hanger-having a hook for engagementover a supporting pole wherein the hook-has a shankportion, curvingaround and terminating in a downwardly directed end portion spaced atdistance from said shank-portion to receive said pole therenetween, ofan elasticlink extending the distance between said shank and endportions, said link having a hole therethrough spaced a distanceinwardly from each end leaving a link end'portion extending therebeyond,said: shank portion slidingly extending through one hole and said endportion slidingly extending: through the other hole, said holes beingspacedapart normally at a distance less than that 4 between the shankand end portions requiring a longitudinal stretching ofthe link forengagement therewith. 2. The structure of claimil in which said link isadapted to pass under said pole and slidingly extend upwardly along bothof said shank and said end portions compressively bearing against saidpole and resisting rocking of said hook about said pole.

References. Cited in. the. file ofthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,817,621 Harding Aug. 4, 1931 1,973,376 Freedman Sept. 11, 19342,392,257 ONealet aL Jan. 1, 1946 2,757,834 Bernier et al Aug. 7, 19562,795,025 Wexler June 11, 1957

